Automatic case cleaner machines



April 29, 1958 G. M. Ross 2,832,090

AUTOMATIC CASE CLEANER MACHINES Filed April 9, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR ATTORNEY April 29, 1958 ca. M. ROSS AUTOMATIC CASE CLEANER MACHINES Filed April 9, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 S & y .H

M l lRNEY April 29, 1958 Filed April 9, 1954 G. M. ROSS AUTOMATIC CASE CLEANER MACHINES 5 Shee ts-Sheet s1 IN VENTOR ATTORNEY April 29, 1958 a. M. Ross AUTOMATIC CASE CLEANER MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 9, l954 Q kik *&

INVENTOR @6 4 211. Am

April 29, 1958 G. M. ROSS 2,832,090

AUTOMATIC CASE CLEANER MACHINES Filed April 9, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR BYW-W G2; Tait ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,832,090 AUTOMATIC CASE CLEANER MACHINES George M. Ross, Bainbridge, Ga., assignor to Miller Hydro Company, Bainbridge, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Application April a, 1954, Serial No.422,143

6 Claims. 01. 15-304 This invention relates to a case cleaner and more particularly to a machine for removing trash, such as bottle caps, papers, and other foreign matter from beverage cases or the like.

Previous attempts to develop machines of this general type have resulted in manual and semi-automatic mechanisms, however, these have not proven practical due to the need for several persons to operate a single machine. It is, therefore, the primary object of this invention to provide a machine in which all operations are automatic and in which cases are fed from a conveyor line, processed through the machine for cleaning, and subsequently delivered from the machine, all under the control of a single operator.

A more specific object is to provide a machine of this type in which the cases are automatically moved to an inverted position, subjected to jarring and shaking and intermittent blasts of air or other cleaning fluid and returned to their upright positions.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, there is contemplated an automatic case cleaning machine in which all operations are electrically and pneumatically, controlled. A case supporting reel is mounted one.

horizontal shaft suitably journaled in the main frame of the machine and has a pair of supporting platforms, one on either side of the horizontal shaft andfacing in opposite directions, for receiving cases which are automatically fed thereto by means of live rolls. The reel is rorated in alternate directions through 180 by means of a gear secured to one end of the shaft and a quadrant gear pivotally mounted on the frame in meshing engagement with the shaft gear, movement of the quadrant gear being effected by means of an air controlled piston rod. The rotating mechanism is automatically and periodically actuated by each successive case, as it is fed to a position adjacent the reel, contacting a micro switch to control movement of the said air controlled piston rod. As the reel is alternately rotated through its path of 180, a cam member associated with the quadrant gear actuates a pair of valves which control a series of jets to direct a stream of air or other suitable cleaning fluid into the case as it approaches, and again as it moves away from, its inverted position.- After they have returned to their original upright position, the clean cases are automatically removed from the reel to a suitable delivery means by the pushing action of a case being fed to the reel.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the invention when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure I is a topplan view of a case cleaner made according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the same; Figure 3 is an end elevational view as seen from the left side of Figure 1 showing the case reel rotating mechanism in detail; 3

Figure 4 is an end elevational view looking from right to left in Figure 1 showing the details of the delivery stop mechanism;

Figure 5 is a schematic View of the air and electric system of the present machine;

Figure 6 is a schematic wiring diagram showing the various electrical components of the present machine; and

Figures 7-13 are views in diagrammatic cross-section showing the various positions of the case reel as it rotates through one complete cycle.

Referring now to the drawings, the frame of the machine comprises an elongated base member 10 and a pair of upstanding side plates 11 and 12 secured thereto at their lower ends. A case supporting reel, designated by the reference numeral 13, and comprising a pair of generally 0 shaped side frame members 14 and 15 and a plurality of cross braces 27 secured therebetween, is mounted for rotational movement about its horizontal axis on a shaft 16 which is suitably journaled in bearing blocks 17 and 18 carried by the side plates 11 and 12.

As can be seen best from Figures 7 through 13, the reel has a pair of supporting surfaces one on either side of shaft 16 comprising a plurality of rollers 19 and 20 mounted on a series of parallel, spaced shafts 21 and 22 respectively, which are secured in the intermediate cross members which extend between the side frames 14 and 15 of the reel. A pair of brackets 23 and 24 are secured to the side frame members 14 and 15 of the reel (Fig. 3) and are mounted for adjustment relative to each other to accommodate the different width cases which it may be desired to clean. A second pair of brackets 25 and 26, which are adapted to overlie and be spaced above the top of a case for purposes hereinafter set forth, are also adjustably secured to the side frame members 14 and 15 by suitable means such as bolts 27 or the like extending through slots in the side frame members.

A generally horizontal feeding platform (Figs. 1 and 2) having a pair of side members 29 and 29 and a series of spaced rolls 30 journalled therein, has one end secured to side plate 12 of the main frame by means of brackets or the like 31 with its other end being supported on posts or the like 32 which have their lower ends in engagement with base number 10. Rolls 30 are driven by any conventional means such as a belt 33 running over pulleys 34 secured to the ends of the shafts 30 upon which the rolls 30 are mounted and a pulley 35 secured to a shaft 36 driven by a motor 37. A guide arm 38 mounted on one side of the feed platform urges the cases as they are being fed from any suitable conveying means 39 to one side of the feed platform and into contact with a micro-switch 40 and a stop 41 mounted on the opposite side of the feedingplatform, for purposes hereinafter set out. A series of guide rollers 42 and 43 are positioned on both sides of the feed platform for engagement with the sides of the cases as they are fed forward toward the case supporting reel. It will be understood, of course, that either or both of these series of rollers could be replaced with any conventional guide means suchas guide rails. A second guide arm 44 carrying a pair of rollers 45 is pivotally mounted at 46 to one side of the feed table to aid in urging the cases toward the switch 40 and stop 41.

The mechanism for rotating the case reel, as can be best seen in Fig. 3, includes a gear 47 secured to one end of the shaft 16 by any suitable means such as a key 48. A quadrant gear 49 is pivotally secured at 50 to the side plate 12 of the main frame and has: a downwardly extending cam 51 rigid therewith. The end of piston rod 53 of an air cylinder 54 is pivotally connected to cam 51 at 55, with the air cylinder itself being pivotally 3 mounted at 56 on a bracket 57 carried by side plate 12. It can readily be seen therefore that horizontal movement of the piston rod 53, in a manner hereinafter described, will cause the quadrant gear to swing about its pivot to thereby rotate gear 47 and the case reel 13.

A second air cylinder 58 (Fig. 1) is mounted adjacent one side of the feed platform with a plunger 59 carried on the free end of the cylinder piston rod adapted to engage the side of a case, to move it sideways, and out of engagement with the stop 41. A second stop means is positioned adjacent the delivery side of the case reel and comprises a roller 60 mounted on one end of an arm 61 which is pivotally secured intermediate its ends to the main frame side plate 11 at 62. The free end of this arm is pivotally secured at 62 to the free end of piston rod 63 of a third air cylinder 64 (Fig. 4) mounted on a suitable bracket means 65 carried by plate 11. Also positioned adjacent the delivery end of the case reel is a delivery roll 66 carried on a shaft 67 journalled in brackets 68 which are supported on the base member 10 and secured to plate 11. The drive for roll 66 is taken from the feed rolls 30 by means of a chain or belt 69 run ning between a pulley 70 secured to one end of an extended shaft 71 of one of the rolls 30 and a pulley 72 secured to one end of shaft 67. The chain or belt 69 is held in place by means of a roller 73 resting on top of the belt and carried adjacent one end of an arm 74, the other end of which is loosely mounted on shaft 71. A spring 75 secured between arm 74 and the main frame holds the roller in firm contact with the belt. Pulley 72 is smaller in diameter than pulley 70 so that the delivery roll 66 is rotated at a greater speed than feed rolls 30 for purposes hereinafter set forth. The actuation of the cylinder 58 to control the feeding of cases to the case reel and the cylinder 64 to control movement of stop 60 to permit the delivery of clean cases to roll 66 is described in greater detail hereinafter.

The complete air cycle for supplying air to cylinders 54, 58 and 64 is shown schematically in Figure 5 and also in part in Figures 3 and 4. Air is supplied from a pump 76 or other suitable air supply through a filter 77, a pressure regulator 78, and a lubricator 79 directly to air cylinder 54 through a branch line 80. The flow of air can be regulated to enter cylinder 54 either forward of or in back of plunger 53 through ports 81 or 82 respectively, by means of a sliding valve 83, movement of which is controlled by solenoids 99 and 100. A second branch line 84 conducts air to a three-Way valve 85 which regulates the flow of air to air cylinders 58 and 64 through chokes 86 and 87 respectively. The three-way air valve 85 is of a conventional type and is controlled, as the case reel rotates through its path, by cam 51 engaging a roller 89 carried adjacent one end of a control arm 88 which is pivotally secured to the valve body. The choke 86 regulates the pressure to the air cylinder 58 to slowly move the plunger 59 to its extended position, the plunger being retracted by means of a spring 116 when the air pressure is released. Choke 87 is a conventional two-way choke which allows air to slowly enter and escape from cylinder 64 with a second spring 90 urging the piston rod 63 toward its retracted position when the supply of air to the cylinder is cut olf.

The electrical system for controlling the flow of air alternately to ports 81 and 82 of the main cylinder 54 is shown in diagrammatic form in Figures 5 and 6. Switch 40, which, as has been previously mentioned, is positioned adjacent front stop 41 as shown in Figure l, a switch 91, which is mounted on plate 11 below the air cylinder 64, and a pair ofv switches 92 and 93, which lie adjacent the end of piston rod 53 when in its extended and retracted positions respectively, as shown in Figure 3, are wired in series. As can be seen in Fig. 6, when switches 40 and 91 are closed, the closing of switches 92 or 93 will energize either solenoid 100 or 99' to thus move slide valve 83 and regulate the flow of air to either port 81 or 82 of the main cylinder. A manual switch 94 when closed actuates the magnetic starter 95 to start motor 123 and thereby energize the primary side of the transformer 96, while a second manual switch 97 either directs current through the automatically controlled switches 40, 91, 92 and 93 or through a further manual switch 98 which is wired directly to solenoids 99 and 100 for purposes hereinafter described.

As has previously been mentioned, in order that the solenoids 99 and 100 be energized, it is necessary that switches 40, 91 and either 92 or 93 be closed. Switch 91 is controlled by a lever arm 101 having a roller 102 on the free end thereof which lies in the path of the free end of the arm 61 of the delivery stop 60. As can be seen best in Figure 4, when the delivery stop 60 is in its operative stopping position, as shown in full line in the figure, the roller 102 of the switch is contacted,

thereby closing the switch. Switches 92 and 93 are controlled by cam 51 and as can be seen in Fig. 3, as the piston rod 53 approaches its fully retracted position, cam 51 engages a roller 120 secured at one end of a lever 121 thereby closing switch 93. With switches 91 and 93 closed, a case entering the feed platform contacts switch 60 to complete the circuit and energize solenoid 99. As can be best seen in Fig. 5, when the solenoid 99 is energized, the sliding valve 83 is moved upwardly, thereby closing port 82 of the cylinder and allowing air to flow into the cylinder through port 81 to move the piston rod 53 of the cylinder to the right as viewed in Figures 3 and 5. This righthand movement of rod 53 causes the quadrant gear to swing in a counter-clockwise direction thereby rotating case reel 13 in a clockwise direction.

The mechanism for cleaning the cases comprises two series of jets 103 and 104 mounted adjacent the lower end of the main frame and positioned one on either side and below the case reel 13. Air flows to these jets through lines 105 and 106 respectively which are connected to a common air line 107 running directly from the main air supply line. A pair of valves 108 and 109, which are mounted on suitable bracket means carried by plate 12, are positioned one on either side of the quadrant gear pivot 50 for controlling the flow of air to the jets 103 and 104 respectively. The flow of air through the air valves is automatically controlled by a cam 52, carried by cam 51, contacting rollers 110 and 111 mounted on the free ends of control levers 112 and 113 respectively of these valves. It is apparent therefore that as the case reel rotates, intermittent blasts of air are directed toward the inverted cases with a receptacle 124 (Fig. 2) being placed below the reel to collect the falling debris.

The operation of the case cleaning mechanism will now be explained. Assuming that a case No. l as shown in Figures 7 through 13 is positioned on the roller surface 19 of the case reel, when the piston rod 53 of aircylinder 54 is fully retracted to the left as viewed in Figure 3, the delivery stop 60 will be in its operative full line position of Figure 4 thus holding switch 91 closed, while a second case, designated case No. 2 in Figures 7 through 13, will be in engagement with the feed stop 41 thus holding switch 40 closed. Since the cam 51 has contacted the roller arm of switch 93, this switch is also closed, thus the solenoid 99 is energized and the slide valve 83 is moved to its upper position as viewed in Figure 5 to permit air to How through port 81 into the air chamber of cylinder 54. As the air pressure forces the piston rod 53 toward the right, as viewed in Figures 3 and 5, the case begins its counter-clockwise movement as shown in Figure 8, with cam 52 first contacting the roller 110 of valve 108 to thereby direct a jet of air from the jets 103 toward the now empty portion of the case reel. In the meantime cam 51 has contacted roller 89 to open the three-way valve 85 to direct air through the chokes 86 and 87 to the cylinders 58 and 64 respectively. These 76 chokes are adjusted so that the air flows slowly into the 112 of valve 108 and then into contact with roller 111 carried on the free end of control lever 113 of valve 109. The opening of this valve.109 directs a jet of air or other suitable cleaning fluid from jets 104. into the partially inverted case No. l as shown in Figure 9. As the reel continues to rotate toward its Fig. position, the case will suddenly drop with a jar onto brackets 25 and 26 to thus loosen any debris lodged in the case. It will be understood of course, that the air valve operating means can be adjusted so as to direct air into the case either before or after the case has dropped to its jarred position. Also since many of the beverage ,cases in use today contain a plurality of cartons, a pair of inverted generally U shaped brackets 123 and 124 .(Fig. 3) are:

secured to the top and bottom of the case reel between sidemembers 14 and by suitable means such as bolts 125 and 126 to prevent the cartons from falling from the cases as they are inverted. v i

As can be seen particularly in Figures 3 and 5, the shape of cam 51 is such that it is in contact with the roller 89 of valve 85 through substantially the full movement of piston rod 53 to allow air to slowly flow into the cylinders 58 and 64. It is apparent, therefore, that the piston rod 59 of air cylinder. 58 slowly clamps case No. 2.

against the side guide rollers 42and thus clear of feed stop 41. At the same time delivery stop 60 has slowly moved to the left as viewed in Figure 4, until it reaches its dotted line position, at which point it isclear of the front of the case supporting portion of the reel. The counter-clockwise rotation of the reel continues until a projecting stop member 118 carried by the reel contacts a stop 119 on the main frame, at which time piston rod 53 is in its fully extended position with cam 51 having moved out of engagement with roller 88 of valve 85 and into engagement with a roller 114 mounted on ann 115 to thereby close switch 92. With the flow of air to cylinders 58 and 64 now cut 01f, the action of springs 116 and 90 will urge the piston rods 59 and 63 respectively toward their retracted positions. The choke 86 being designed to allow the air quickly to flow back therethrough and thence to exhaust in any suitable manner, plunger 59 will be rapidly retracted and case No. 2, having been moved free of stop 41, will be fed by the live rolls 30 onto the case reel and its supporting rollers as shown in Figure 10. Choke 87 meantime will allow the air to slowly flow back through it, and stop 60 will slowly return to its operative stopping position to be engaged by the forwardend of case No. Zwhich is being fed to the reel.

With case No. 2 having been fed from the feed table, a third case, designated case No. 3, has moved into engaging position with feed stop 41 and switch 40 thereby closing the circuit to energize solenoid 100 and moving the slide valve 83 downwardly as shown in Figure 5 to direct theflow of air into cylinder 54 through port 82. It is apparent therefore that with the air pressure entering port 82, the piston 53 will be moved to the left causing the case reel to rotate in the opposite direction as shown in Figures 11 through 13. The initial return movement of piston rod 53 causes cam 52 to first contact roller 111 of valve 109 to thereby direct a second stream of cleaning fluid into case No. 1 as shown in Figure 11. As the case reel continues to be rotated, cam 52 engages roller 110 of the other air valve 108 to direct a stream of cleaning fluid from jet 103 into case No. 2 as shown in Figure 12. At the same time cam 51 has moved into contact with the roller control 89 to open valve 85 and direct air into the cylinders case No. 3 toward a position clear of stop 41and to move the stop means 60 out of its operative stopping position. i

The clockwise movement of the case reel continues until its projecting stop member 118 contacts a second frame stop member not'shown. At this point piston. 63 is fully retracted and cam 51 has contacted roller. 120 to close switch 93. Case No. 3, having been moved. clear of stop 41 and released by air cylinder 58, is now fed onto the reel thus forcing case No. 1 out of the reel onto the delivery roll 66. Since the delivery roll 66 is moving at a greater speed than the feed rolls 30, case No. 1 will be moved from the reel onto a suitable confed thereto. Stop 60in the meantime rolls along the edge of the case No. 1 as it isbeing delivered from the reel and since the delivered case is moved out of the reel more quickly than the incoming case, the spring action of spring 90 of the piston rod 63 will move the stop 60 back to its operative stopping position to thus hold the case No. 3 on the reel supporting surface 19 as shown in Figure 13. Switch 93 having been closed once again by the action of cam 51 been again closed by the return of stop 60 to its operative position, a fourth case as it reaches stop 41 closes switch to again energize the solenoid 99 and move the slide valve 83 to direct the flow of air through port 81 to thus begin the cycle once again.

As can be seen particularly in Figure 6, reason thecase reel gets jammed, 97 can be thrown to the left as viewed in this figure thus if for any cutting out the automatically controlled switches 40, 91,. '92 and 93 and directing current into the manual switch 98. It is apparent therefore that a movement to the left of manual switch 98 will direct current through the solenoid 99 to thus move the case reel in one direction while movement of the switch to the right will energize solenoid 100 to thus move the case reel in the opposite direction. In this. manner the reel can be quickly and eflicie ntly unjammed and be put back into use.

s From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the present case cleaning machine, being fully automatic,

greatly expedites the cleaning of cases as compared with,

the previous manual and semi-automatic machines and provides a much more eflicient and practical machine.

The case cleaner as illustrated and described above is by way of example only, and any changes which might.

occur to one skilled in the art, are contemplated by the present invention within the scope of the following claims: Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A case cleaning machine comprising a frame, a conveyor for feeding a series of cases to be cleaned to said machine, a case supporting reel mounted on said frame for rotational movement about a substantially horizontal axis and transverse to the movement of said conveyor, said reel including apair of case supporting platforms each positioned on opposite sides of said axis and alternately forming a continuous case supporting surface with said conveyor, stop means positioned at one side of said conveyor and in the path of said series of cases for individually stopping each of said cases, means including said in a first direction to move a first case positioned on the one of said case supporting platforms forming a con tinuous case supporting surface with said conveyor toward an inverted position, said means being actuated by a second case reaching the said adjacent position and contacting said stop means, means including a plunger adapted to contact the side of a case for moving sideways on said conveyor said second case to a position free from said stop means and in readiness for delivery to the other of said case supporting platforms, means for delivering said second case to the other of said case supporting platforms when said first case is inverted,

58 and 64 to respectively and switch 91 having the manual switch stop means for rotating said reel,

means for rotating said reel in a second direction to move said first case toward its original upright position and said second case toward an inverted position, said last mentioned means being actuated by a third case reaching the said adjacent position and contacting said stop means, means controlled by said rotational movements for directing a stream of cleaning fluid into said cases as they approach and recede from their said inverted position, and means for delivering said cases from said reel.

2. The combination of claim 1 including a second conveyor forming a continuous path alternately with the respective platforms of said reel and delivering cleaned cases away from said reel, and a retractable delivery stop selectively positionable in said second conveyor path, said delivery stop being coupled to said stop means to provide for rotation of said reel in response to the actuation of said stop means by a contacting case and the positioning of said delivery stop in the case delivery path of said second conveyor, said delivery stop being retracted in response to the delivery from the reel of a cleaned case and riding on an edge of said case and returning to the delivery path to stop a newly reel-loaded uncleaned case from premature delivery from said reel.

3. A case cleaning machine comprising a frame, a conveyor for feeding a series of cases to be cleaned to said machine, a case supporting reel mounted on said frame for rotational movement about a substantially'horizontal axis and transverse to the movement of said conveyor, said reel including a pair of case supporting platforms each positioned on opposite sides of said axis and alternately forming a continuous case supporting surface with said conveyor, stop means in the conveyor path of said series of cases for individually stopping each of said cases, means including said stop means for rotating said reel in a first direction to move a first case positioned on the one of said case supporting platforms forming a continuous case supporting surface with said conveyor toward an inverted position, said means being actuated by a second case reaching the said adjacent position and contacting said stop means, means for moving transversely on said conveyor said second case to a position free from said stop means and in readiness for delivery to the other of said case supporting platforms, means for delivering said second case to the other of said case supporting platforms when said first case is inverted, means for rotating said reel in a second direction to move said first case toward its original upright position and said second case toward an inverted position, said last mentioned means being actuated by a third case reaching the said adjacent position and contacting said stop means, means controlled by said rotational movements for directing a stream of cleaning fluid into said cases as they approach and recede from their said inverted position, and means for delivering said cases from said reel.

4. The combination of claim 3 including a second conveyor forming a continuous path alternately with the respective platforms of said reel and delivering cleaned cases away from said reel, and a retractable delivery stop selectively positionable in said second conveyor path, said delivery stop being coupled to said stop means to provide for rotation of said reel in response to the actuation of said stop means by a contacting case and the positioning of said delivery stop in the case delivery path of said second conveyor, said delivery stop being retracted in response to the delivery from the reel of a cleaned case and riding on an edge of said case and returning to the delivery path to stop a newly reel-loaded uncleaned case from premature delivery from said reel.

5. A case cleaning machine comprising a frame, a conveyor for feeding a series of cases to be cleaned to said machine, a case supporting reel mounted on said frame for'rotational movement about a substantially horizontal axis and transverse to the movement of said conveyor, said reel including a pair of case supporting platforms each positioned on opposite sides of said axis and alternately forming a continuous case supporting surface with said conveyor, stop means positioned at one side of said conveyor and in the path of said series of cases for individually stopping each of said cases, means including said stop means for rotating said reel in a first direction to move a first case positioned on the one of said case supporting platforms forming a continuous case supporting surface with said conveyor toward an inverted position, said means being actuated by a second case reaching the said adjacent position and contacting said stop means, means for moving transversely on said conveyor said second case to a position free from said stop means and in readiness for delivery to the other of said case supporting platforms, means for delivering said second case to the other of said case supporting platforms when said first case is inverted, means for rotating said reel in a second direction to move said first case'toward its original upright position and said second case toward an inverted position, said last mentioned means being actuated by a third case reaching the said adjacent position and contacting said stop means, means controlled by said rotational movements for directing a stream of cleaning fluid into said inverted cases and means for delivering said cases from said reel.

6. The combination of claim 5 including a second conveyor forming a continuous path alternately with the respective platforms of said reel and delivering cleaned cases away from said reel, and a retractable delivery stop selectively positionable in said second conveyor path, said delivery stop being coupled to said stop means to provide for rotation of said reel in response to the actuation of said stop means by a contacting case and the positioning of said delivery stop in the case delivery path of said second conveyor, said delivery stop being retracted in response to the delivery from the reel of a cleaned case and riding on an edge of said case and returning to the delivery path to stop a newly reel-loaded uncleaned case from a premature delivery from said reel. 5

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,282,474 Howard May 12, 1942 2,454,924 Hurst Nov. 30, 1948 2,524,887 Curtis et al. Oct. 10, 1950 2,549,062 Davis Apr. 17, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 129,287 Great Britain Apr. 5, 1920 458,759 Germany Apr. 23, 1928 843,262 Germany July 7, 1952 867,520 Germany Feb. 19, 1953 

